It was then that they gave their Chapeltown football ground – the oldest ground still in use in the world – to Old Boltonians AFC.

Mr James, who carried out his research at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Exercise and Sport Science department in Crewe, made the discovery while researching football in Manchester between 1840 and 1884.

He uncovered the story of the club through extensive research in archives.

Because they were the only club in the area in the 1860s, Hulme Athenaeum were forced to travel to find opposition in Sheffield and elsewhere.

Mr James said: “In the 1870s several prominent clubs, most notably Turton, were developing in Lancashire and there was a very vibrant football culture, with lots of teams playing against each other, but in the 1860s that didn’t exist yet.

“With a lack of local competition Hulme couldn’t survive and rugby remained the dominant sport in Manchester.”